J.E. Mbaiwa (Botswana)
Water resource use, tourism, sport fishing, dug-out canoes, boating.
Tourism in the Okavango Delta has partly developed due to the availability of water resources in the wetland. However, adequate research has not been carried out to analyse the amount of water demand and sustainable use in the tourism sector. Existing and potential threats to water resources within the tourism sector has also not been adequately analysed. This paper, therefore, uses the concept of sustainable development to analyse the demand and use of water resources for tourism purposes in the Okavango Delta. Results from both secondary and primary data sources suggest that water is used in tourism establishments and for tourism activities such as boating, dug-out canoe safaris, and sport fishing in the Okavango Delta. While water resources have a contribution in the development of rural livelihoods and the national economy through tourism development, tourism also creates conditions for contamination and pollution in the Okavango Delta. This suggests that tourism stakeholders and tourism activities that require the use of water resources should be identified with the aim of developing management approaches that promote the sustainable use of water resources in the Okavango Delta.
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